


One Good Turn

by summerbutterfly



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys Kissing, Boys' Love, Community: saiyuki_wk_au, M/M, Prompt Fill, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-12-03 12:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/698232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerbutterfly/pseuds/summerbutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Student body president Cho Hakkai is not thrilled when he catches his sister with the boy with a bad reputation.  But there is more to the story than meets the eye and Hakkai finds himself drawn to the mysterious outcast in ways he can't explain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Good Turn

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the BL prompt at saiyuki__wk_au.

Looking back, it was probably odd that he could say he met his future boyfriend the day he caught him in a compromising position with his twin sister. But that's exactly what happened one May afternoon when Cho Hakkai discovered Cho Kanan pinned to the wall near the west corridor's men's room by none other than well-known loner-punk, Sha Gojyo. 

"Um. _Excuse me_." Hakkai tapped Gojyo's shoulder with all the bravado he could muster. "What exactly do you think you are doing?"

The lanky young man with the shocking red hair turned angry eyes in Hakkai's direction. "Get lost," he snarled. "This is none of your business."

"I'm afraid it is my business. That's my _sister_ you're molesting." 

Gojyo turned. As he did, Hakkai realized he was far taller than he first appeared. "Molesting?" he repeated. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Well what _else_ am I supposed to think when you have my sister pushed up against a wall?"

"Well, I don't know, but the least you could do was _ask_ before jumping to conclusions."

"Don't try to defend your disgusting behavior. I know you're type. You think you can just do whatever you want with no consequences and..."

"Hakkai." Kanan wiggled out from under Gojyo's arm. "Stop it. Gojyo was just helping me out. You don't have to be a jerk."

"Helping you out? You call _this_ helping you out?" 

"Yes." She gave her brother a hard look. "I needed his help and he gave it. Now leave him alone." 

Hakkai looked back and forth between the two of them. 

"Alone," Kanan reiterated. Her tone left no room for argument. "We have to get going anyway. Gojyo, thanks again. See you around, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." 

Gojyo turned to leave. But before he could, Kanan grabbed his hand.

And then to Hakkai's absolute horror, she kissed him on the cheek.

***

"What was that?" Hakkai demanded. He slammed the door of their small apartment hard enough to shake the photographs on the wall. "Do you even _know_ him, Kanan, or are you turning into one of those girls that doesn't care?" 

"How dare you," Kanan hissed. "You don't even know what happened!"

"What more do I need to know than you kissed him! The son of a Yakuza crime lord!"

"He is _not_ the son of a Yakuza crime lord. And even if he were, if he hadn't come along when he did, you would have found me in a much more compromising position than pinned to a wall."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?" 

"Takamura came to talk to me today."

Hakkai stilled. "Takamura?"

"Yes." Kanan set her schoolbag down. For the first time, Hakkai noticed that the stitching on the shoulder strap was torn. "Apparently, he's still mad at you. He thinks you rigged the election and you don't deserve to be student body president." 

"That's ridiculous!"

"Maybe so, but Takamura is convinced. And since it would look too suspicious if he went after you, he came after me." Kanan rubbed her arm absently. "If Gojyo hadn't been there, it would have been bad." 

Hakkai flushed. "I still don't like the way he was hovering over you."

"Yeah, well, he scared Takamura, so as far as I'm concerned, he can hover any way he wants." Kanan turned and headed to the kitchen. "Now what do you want for dinner? Sukiyaki or Ramen?" 

"Ramen," Hakkai said, and heaved a heavy sigh. 

****

The next time he saw Sha Gojyo, Hakkai felt an overwhelming rush of shame. It had been his intention to be the bigger man and apologize straight away for his rude behavior, but time got away from him and it was almost two weeks after the incident with Kanan before he finally plucked up the courage to speak. 

Naturally, Gojyo seemed less than interested in his words.

"Forget it," Gojyo said. "It's over."

"Still. I should thank you."

"Fine." Gojyo reached into his jacket and drew out a pack of cigarettes. "Thank me and get it over with."

Hakkai coughed. "I would but, um, you aren't supposed to be..."

Gojyo tilted his head. "To be what? Smoking on campus? Maybe so, but the student body president owes me a favor."

Gojyo smirked, lighting up and taking a long drag.

Hakkai let the infraction go. 

****

After that, Hakkai went from hardly seeing Gojyo, to suddenly seeing him all the time. They didn't speak, but there was a regularity to their passings. They always occurred in the afternoon, and they always occurred in the same west corridor. 

Then there was the day that Hakkai came late to his afternoon math class and saw Gojyo ducking out of the language lab with an envelope in his hand. He was heading for the men's room. 

Coincidentally, the very same men's room next to which Hakkai had caught him with Kanan.

Curiosity compelled Hakkai to follow. 

He snuck into the lavatory as quietly as possible. Inside, it appeared empty, but soon, Hakkai heard voices coming from behind a partition. 

"You're _sure_ these are right?"

"Have I been wrong yet?"

"No, but how do I know you didn't sabotage me on purpose? That's something a punk like you would do."

"That's real rich coming from a lying cheat who can't pass his own exams." 

Someone snickered. Feet shuffled. Gojyo's voice was low and menacing, but the laugher didn't seem to care.

"Well that's why I have you, isn't it? To pass them for me? Besides, even if you _did_ sabotage me, I know your secret. I know you're not a Yakuza kid, which is great by itself, but I also know you have a taste for some... _unnatural_ past times. Don't you, Sha Gojyo?" 

There was a loud bang. The partition shook and then Gojyo came around the corner, jaw clenched with anger. If he saw Hakkai, he didn't let on, even when Hakkai was quick to follow him back outside.

"Hey," Hakkai said.

Gojyo kept on walking.

"Hey!" Hakkai tried again. But still not even a twitch from the other boy.

Hakkai ran his hands through his dark hair and bit his lip.

****  
"Hakkai?" Kanan poked her head into the kitchen where Hakkai still sat at the table, staring at his open notebook. "Hakkai, it's past midnight. You really need to go to bed." 

"I'll be there in a minute." He ran the eraser end of his pencil through the empty space. "I'm just thinking." 

Kanan's hand touched his shoulder. "Whatever it is, can I help?"

"I don't know," Hakkai murmured. "Do you know what to do when you know someone's in trouble, but helping them might make it ten times worse?"

"No," she said. "But I can say that my instinct would be to help them anyway."

"Why?"

"Because it's just the right thing to do. Because sometimes people who really need help are the least likely to ask for it."

"Funny," Hakkai said. "That's what I thought, too."

****

Gojyo looked like a cornered animal a week later when he found Hakkai in the bathroom instead of one of his usual contacts.

"What the hell do you want?" he demanded. "You in on this now, too?"

"No," Hakkai said. "I'm perfectly capable of passing my exams on my own, thanks." 

"Well good for you. You don't belong in here then."

"Actually, I do." Hakkai pulled a file folder out from under his arm. "Because someone needs to put a stop to this."

Gojyo backed away, eyes narrowed and dangerous. "Put a stop to what? Me? You gonna try and get me kicked out for cheating?"

"No, because I know you're not the one doing the cheating. _You_ are passing your classes with top marks. Several boys in your class, however, are not. It's funny though. Their exams scores are all almost perfect. And yours..." He drew out a printed sheet of paper. "Yours are just mediocre. Why is that, Gojyo?"

Gojyo tensed.

"Is it because you're deliberately getting things wrong so that no one realizes these boys are blackmailing you? So that no one realizes the only reason they are passing is because you're essentially taking their tests for them? Because if you don't, they'll reveal that you're a foster kid who lives in the group home downtown?"

"You shut your mouth!" Gojyo yelled. "You don't know anything about me!"

"Maybe not, but I do know that these guys are self-righteous assholes who, as of tomorrow, will no longer be students here. An anonymous note is on its way to the principal along with evidence of their misconduct. None of which implicates you."

"Then how are you going to explain it? How do you plan on not making things worse?"

Hakkai smiled and drew out a glossy 8x10 photograph. "Pictures. Of answer keys in their possession. The school newspaper's lead photographer took these for me yesterday." 

Gojyo remained stoic, staring at Hakkai like he didn't and never would trust him.

Hakkai's triumph deflated a little bit. "I know I this wasn't any of my business..." 

"But let me guess, you couldn't help yourself? Couldn't not help the outcast? Because you're arrogant, and self-righteous, and the type to sink your teeth into something until it dies?"

"Well, I don't know about that last part," Hakkai said, "but as for arrogant and self-righteous, yes. Kanan has told me that on several occasions." 

"She would know," Gojyo sighed. His fingers twitched for his pocket.

Hakkai could only guess he was looking for a cigarette. 

"If you need to..." he began, but stopped when Gojyo looked at him.

"No. I can wait. I shouldn't be late for class."

"If you are, I'll get you excused." Hakkai tried smiling again. "You are, after all, getting top marks." 

Gojyo shrugged. "I like school. It's always the same. No nasty surprises, y'know? Makes it easy to kind of let go and concentrate on something that isn't life. Most of the time anyway." 

It was such an astute observation, Hakkai felt slightly taken aback. "I never thought of it like that," he said quietly.

"That's because you never had to," Gojyo returned.

****

The 3rd year cheating scandal was never publicly discussed, but rumors flew through the high school hallways. Some said there were allocations of questionable misconduct along with the cheating, and that one of the involved had sent a freshman to the hospital for non-compliance. No such thing had happened, of course, but Hakkai let the rumors swirl. It kept the heat off everyone but those deserving of it.

He also felt a great surge of pride when, at the end of the semester, Gojyo was named top student in his year and awarded a full scholarship to continue on to University. Hakkai clapped along with the rest, but certainly didn't share in their surprise in realizing the rumored Yakuza kid was far smarter than he'd been given credit for. 

The only thing missing (at least according to the gossip channels that determined the laws of high school social conduct) was that Gojyo didn't seem to have a girlfriend to share in his success. Not that there was any shortage of applicants, but he never seemed to take a liking to one more than any of the others. There _was_ Kanan, but Kanan had vehemently denied romantic involvement, explaining that their lunches spent together were due to a common affinity for American comic books and nothing more. 

What Hakkai didn't understand was why she always did so with a knowing wink and a little smile, oftentimes cast in his direction.

But he found out the evening after their end-of-the-year school trip to the beach, when everyone but himself had gathered to watch fireworks. 

"Hey. Mr. President." 

Hakkai looked over. He was coming out of one of the outdoor showers in his yukata, rubbing a towel against his damp hair. Without his glasses, the nearby shape looked like a red and tan blur, and it took the smell of cigarette smoke for him to realize who was waiting.

"Gojyo," he said. "Hello. Are you enjoying the trip?"

"Yeah, it's great. Real fun. You got a minute?"

"Of course. What is it?"

The blur shifted uncomfortably. 

Hakkai fished his glasses out of his shower kit. "There you are," he said. "Is something wrong?"

"No I..." Gojyo dug his bare toes into the soft sand. "You know I'm not dating your sister right? That I'm not going behind your back or doing anything weird?" 

"Oh. Oh no, of course not. Kanan likes you very much, and she would have told me if she felt you were making unwanted advances."

"Yeah. Yeah, she's a cool girl." Smoke curled from the end of Gojyo's lit cigarette. "So did she tell you that I'm kinda not into girls at all?"

Hakkai blinked. "Excuse me?

"I'm not into girls," Gojyo repeated. "I like guys."

Hakkai stood stock still. 

"She..she told me you like guys, too," Gojyo added. "Is that true?" 

Hakkai's world spun. He felt a little sick. "Kanan told you that?"

"Yeah. After I told her the real reason I was cheating for those thugs wasn't because I was afraid of being outed as foster kid. It was because I was afraid of being outed as gay. A while back, I hooked up with their ringleader. He'd been really aggressively flirting with me, so I finally gave in figuring it was no big deal. Except...it was. You know the rest." 

"Yes." In a daze, Hakkai sank to the ground. 

Slightly alarmed, Gojyo ran over. "Shit. You okay, man?"

"Yes, I...I just wasn't expecting..." Hakkai rubbed his temples. "I hadn't told anyone.." 

"Kanan's your twin sister, Hakkai. You can't expect her not to know."

"Yes. But still..." 

Gojyo sat down. Hakkai hugged his knees to his chest and didn't look at him, preferring instead to stare hard at the bleached, fragmented seashell by Gojyo's foot. Gojyo didn't say anything, and the silence stretched on for a long time until it was broken by the harsh cry of a wayward seagull.

"Look, I'm not trying to embarrass you," Gojyo said at length. "I just thought you'd like to know that you're not the only one who feels the way you do. I know it was really nice for me to find out other guys and girls felt the way I did, even if all of them didn't turn out to be good people. So...consider this the favor I owe you for getting me out of a really bad situation."

"We seem to keep getting indebted to each other," Hakkai mumbled. "Why is that?"

"Dunno. Maybe it's fate. Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something."

"Maybe." 

"Or...it could be because I kind of like you and don't mind owing you favors." 

Startled, Hakkai looked over. Gojyo was smiling, and his cheeks were unusually flushed. He looked beautiful, and Hakkai felt his heart leap.

"You...you like me?"

"Heh. Yeah." Gojyo rubbed the back of his neck. "You're really cute and crazy smart, and even though you've been a huge pain in my ass, I've kind of wanted to kiss you since that day that you chased off my bullies."

"I...you...what?" Something strange stirred in Hakkai's heart. Something he'd gotten very good at pretending didn't exist. 

"I've wanted to kiss you," Gojyo repeated. "Still kinda do."

"I...You...seriously?"

"Yeah seriously." 

"But I've never kissed anyone," Hakkai protested. "And this is kind of sudden. And I don't know that we should because what if someone comes by and sees us and makes this awkward and..." 

The flow of words was stopped by warm lips. Warm lips pressing against his own. Hakkai shivered all over and clenched his fists around the hem of his robe. The wet tip of a tongue trailed along the crease of his mouth. 

Hakkai stifled a gasp. 

It wasn't just nice. It was better than nice. It was winning the spelling contest, and getting top marks on his math exam and celebrating his birthday all at once. And Gojyo's hands were nice, too. They stroked over his thighs, teasing his still-damp skin, leaving what Hakkai was sure were burn marks in their wake. It was so nice, in fact, that Hakkai barely managed to stop himself from falling forward into Gojyo's lap when the latter turned away to nuzzle his ear.

"There," Gojyo whispered. "Now, you were saying?" 

Hakkai gripped Gojyo's arm and tried to breathe. "I...don't recall," he stammered. "I...is kissing always like that?"

"Not always. Sometimes. When the chemistry's right." Gojyo's huffing laugh made his skin tingle. "Why? Too much?"

"No...I just... I think I need a moment."

Hakkai closed his eyes. Gojyo's fingers trailed up his spine, drawing lazy patterns across his shoulder blades. Hakkai let the action sooth him, relaxing as his heart rate returned to normal. 

"Y'know, before we get all official, we should probably check in with Kanan," Gojyo murmured. 

Hakkai drew back, confused. "What's Kanan got to do with anything?" 

"Well, I don't want her think I'm taking advantage of you, so we should probably tell her I want to be your boyfriend." 

For a long moment, neither of them moved. They just sat there, two silhouettes in the moonlight. 

Hakkai ran a finger over Gojyo's lips. "I have to say, I'm not very keen on that idea." 

"You're not?"

"No, because I'm not sure how comfortable I am talking about kissing with my sister."

It took a moment, but Gojyo slowly registered his words. And when he did, he laughed.

"Well, maybe we don't have to go right this second," he agreed. "But we should probably go soon."

"Yeah...soon. But not now." 

They kissed again, slower this time, bodies twining. Hakkai felt so warm, he thought he might pass out, but the cool timber of Gojyo's voice kept him from blacking out completely.

"C'mon," Gojyo murmured. "Let's go see Kanan. And then I know a place where we can get kakigori and maybe...hang out for a bit? My treat, of course." 

Hakkai smiled. "I'd like that."

"Me, too." 

Gojyo stood. He reached out and pulled Hakkai to his feet, dusting the sand from the hem of his shorts. 

Hand in hand, they made their way back up the beach.


End file.
